This work traces several generations of Chinese “brokers,” ethnic leaders who acted as intermediaries between the Chinese and Anglo worlds of Canada. At the time, most Chinese could not vote and many ...
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This work traces several generations of Chinese “brokers,” ethnic leaders who acted as intermediaries between the Chinese and Anglo worlds of Canada. At the time, most Chinese could not vote and many were illegal immigrants, so brokers played informal but necessary roles as representatives to the larger society. Brokers’ work reveals the changing boundaries between Chinese and Anglo worlds and how tensions among Chinese shaped them. By reinserting Chinese back into mainstream politics, this book alters common understandings of how legally “alien” groups helped create modern immigrant nations. Over several generations, brokers deeply embedded Chinese immigrants in the larger Canadian, U.S., and Chinese politics of their time. On the nineteenth-century Western frontier, Chinese businessmen competed with each other to represent their community. By the early 1920s, a new generation of brokers based in social movements challenged traditional brokers, shifting the power dynamic within the Chinese community. During the Second World War, social movements helped reconfigure both brokerage and race relations. Based on new Chinese language evidence, this book recounts history from the “middle,” a view that is neither bottom up nor top down. Through brokerage, Chinese wielded considerable influence, navigating a period of anti-Asian sentiment and exclusion throughout society. Consequently, Chinese immigrants became significant players in race relations, influencing policies that affected all Canadians and Americans.Less

Brokering Belonging : Chinese in Canada's Exclusion Era, 1885-1945

Lisa Rose Mar

Published in print: 2010-10-13

This work traces several generations of Chinese “brokers,” ethnic leaders who acted as intermediaries between the Chinese and Anglo worlds of Canada. At the time, most Chinese could not vote and many were illegal immigrants, so brokers played informal but necessary roles as representatives to the larger society. Brokers’ work reveals the changing boundaries between Chinese and Anglo worlds and how tensions among Chinese shaped them. By reinserting Chinese back into mainstream politics, this book alters common understandings of how legally “alien” groups helped create modern immigrant nations. Over several generations, brokers deeply embedded Chinese immigrants in the larger Canadian, U.S., and Chinese politics of their time. On the nineteenth-century Western frontier, Chinese businessmen competed with each other to represent their community. By the early 1920s, a new generation of brokers based in social movements challenged traditional brokers, shifting the power dynamic within the Chinese community. During the Second World War, social movements helped reconfigure both brokerage and race relations. Based on new Chinese language evidence, this book recounts history from the “middle,” a view that is neither bottom up nor top down. Through brokerage, Chinese wielded considerable influence, navigating a period of anti-Asian sentiment and exclusion throughout society. Consequently, Chinese immigrants became significant players in race relations, influencing policies that affected all Canadians and Americans.

These chapters survey the range of historical sources from the peoples who collided with the Byzantine Empire during this period of dramatic upheaval. The Empire that had been expanded and ...
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These chapters survey the range of historical sources from the peoples who collided with the Byzantine Empire during this period of dramatic upheaval. The Empire that had been expanded and consolidated by Basil II (d. 1025) was to disintegrate in the face of incursions from the north and Muslim east. In addition, pilgrims and crusaders from the west passed through the Empire and settled – culminating in the capture of Constantinople by the Fourth Crusade in 1204. In order to understand the history of the region during this period, one must be aware of the rich source material created by these shifting populations, in a wide range of languages, and with differing traditions of historical writing. The 14 chapters give an overview of the material, highlighting any problems the historian may have in dealing with it, and provide detailed bibliographical surveys. Latin, Arabic, Jewish, Slavonic, Georgian, Armenian, and Syriac sources are all discussed.Less

Byzantines and Crusaders in Non-Greek Sources, 1025-1204

Published in print: 2007-11-01

These chapters survey the range of historical sources from the peoples who collided with the Byzantine Empire during this period of dramatic upheaval. The Empire that had been expanded and consolidated by Basil II (d. 1025) was to disintegrate in the face of incursions from the north and Muslim east. In addition, pilgrims and crusaders from the west passed through the Empire and settled – culminating in the capture of Constantinople by the Fourth Crusade in 1204. In order to understand the history of the region during this period, one must be aware of the rich source material created by these shifting populations, in a wide range of languages, and with differing traditions of historical writing. The 14 chapters give an overview of the material, highlighting any problems the historian may have in dealing with it, and provide detailed bibliographical surveys. Latin, Arabic, Jewish, Slavonic, Georgian, Armenian, and Syriac sources are all discussed.

In this historical study of High-Medieval Iceland, the author investigates the influence of the Christian Church on the formation of the earliest state structures in Iceland, from the conversion in ...
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In this historical study of High-Medieval Iceland, the author investigates the influence of the Christian Church on the formation of the earliest state structures in Iceland, from the conversion in 1000 to the union with Norway in 1262. In the history of mankind, states and state structures have usually been established before the advent of written records. As a result historians are rarely able to trace with certainty the early development of complex structures of government. In Iceland, literacy and the practice of native history writing had been established by the beginning of the twelfth century; whereas the formation of a centralized government did not occur until more than a hundred years later. The early development of state-like structures has therefore been unusually well chronicled, in the Icelandic Sagas, and in the historical records of the twelfth and thirteenth centuries. Based on this material, this book contributes to the discussion on the formation of states.Less

The Christianization of Iceland : Priests, Power, and Social Change 1000-1300

Orri Vesteinsson

Published in print: 2000-05-18

In this historical study of High-Medieval Iceland, the author investigates the influence of the Christian Church on the formation of the earliest state structures in Iceland, from the conversion in 1000 to the union with Norway in 1262. In the history of mankind, states and state structures have usually been established before the advent of written records. As a result historians are rarely able to trace with certainty the early development of complex structures of government. In Iceland, literacy and the practice of native history writing had been established by the beginning of the twelfth century; whereas the formation of a centralized government did not occur until more than a hundred years later. The early development of state-like structures has therefore been unusually well chronicled, in the Icelandic Sagas, and in the historical records of the twelfth and thirteenth centuries. Based on this material, this book contributes to the discussion on the formation of states.

No one has hitherto had the breadth of imagination and intellectual boldness to describe and analyse government throughout recorded history and throughout the world. Ranging over 5,000 years, from ...
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No one has hitherto had the breadth of imagination and intellectual boldness to describe and analyse government throughout recorded history and throughout the world. Ranging over 5,000 years, from the Sumerian city state to the modern European nation state, five themes emerge in this book: state-building, military formats, belief systems, social stratification, and timespan. The three volumes examine both representative and exceptional polities, and focus on political elites of different types. This text is the second volume and it analyses the ‘church’ politics of the Byzantine Empire and the Caliphate; the evolution of the T'ang and Ming Empires in China; the characteristics of feudal Europe, the ‘republican alternatives’ of Florence and Venice, and finally the growth of representative assemblies across Europe.Less

The History of Government from the Earliest Times : Volume II: The Intermediate Ages

S. E. Finer

Published in print: 1999-05-27

No one has hitherto had the breadth of imagination and intellectual boldness to describe and analyse government throughout recorded history and throughout the world. Ranging over 5,000 years, from the Sumerian city state to the modern European nation state, five themes emerge in this book: state-building, military formats, belief systems, social stratification, and timespan. The three volumes examine both representative and exceptional polities, and focus on political elites of different types. This text is the second volume and it analyses the ‘church’ politics of the Byzantine Empire and the Caliphate; the evolution of the T'ang and Ming Empires in China; the characteristics of feudal Europe, the ‘republican alternatives’ of Florence and Venice, and finally the growth of representative assemblies across Europe.

Palaces like the Aljafería and the Alhambra rank among the highest achievements of the Islamic world. In recent years archaeological work at Córdoba, Kairouan and many other sites has vastly ...
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Palaces like the Aljafería and the Alhambra rank among the highest achievements of the Islamic world. In recent years archaeological work at Córdoba, Kairouan and many other sites has vastly increased our knowledge about the origin and development of Islamic palatial architecture, particularly in the Western Mediterranean region. This book offers a comprehensive and up-to-date overview of Islamic palace architecture in Spain, Morocco, Algeria, Tunisia and southern Italy. The author, who has himself conducted archaeological field work at several prominent sites, presents all Islamic palaces known in the region in ground plans, sections and individual descriptions. The book traces the evolution of Islamic palace architecture in the region from the 8th to the 19th century and places them within the context of the history of Islamic culture. Palace architecture is a unique source of cultural history, offering insights into the way space was conceived and the way rulers used architecture to legitimize their power. The book discusses such topics as the influence of the architecture of the Middle East on the Islamic palaces of the western Mediterranean region, the role of Greek logic and scientific progress on the design of palaces, the impact of Islamic palaces on Norman and Gothic architecture and the role of Sufism on the palatial architecture of the late medieval period.Less

Islamic Palace Architecture in the Western Mediterranean : A History

Felix Arnold

Published in print: 2017-04-06

Palaces like the Aljafería and the Alhambra rank among the highest achievements of the Islamic world. In recent years archaeological work at Córdoba, Kairouan and many other sites has vastly increased our knowledge about the origin and development of Islamic palatial architecture, particularly in the Western Mediterranean region. This book offers a comprehensive and up-to-date overview of Islamic palace architecture in Spain, Morocco, Algeria, Tunisia and southern Italy. The author, who has himself conducted archaeological field work at several prominent sites, presents all Islamic palaces known in the region in ground plans, sections and individual descriptions. The book traces the evolution of Islamic palace architecture in the region from the 8th to the 19th century and places them within the context of the history of Islamic culture. Palace architecture is a unique source of cultural history, offering insights into the way space was conceived and the way rulers used architecture to legitimize their power. The book discusses such topics as the influence of the architecture of the Middle East on the Islamic palaces of the western Mediterranean region, the role of Greek logic and scientific progress on the design of palaces, the impact of Islamic palaces on Norman and Gothic architecture and the role of Sufism on the palatial architecture of the late medieval period.

This book brings together medieval Iberia, colonial Mexico, and colonial New Mexico through the largely unexplored history of the Virgin Mary as a figure of warfare and cross-cultural encounter. ...
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This book brings together medieval Iberia, colonial Mexico, and colonial New Mexico through the largely unexplored history of the Virgin Mary as a figure of warfare and cross-cultural encounter. Beginning around 1000, Mary was drawn into warfare between Muslims and Christians in Iberia, emerging as an icon of the so-called Christian reconquest, which ended in 1492. In the process, rulers of Castile and Aragon developed a Marian sense of monarchy and Mary helped define the manliness of Christian men of war. In the religiously–mixed polities of high medieval Castile and Aragon, Mary became a key figure through which Muslims, Christians, and Jews negotiated their relationships with each other, and articulated identities. Mary also became central to the Christian view of the conversion of Muslims and Jews. The Spaniards who established colonies in the Caribbean and Mexico brought with them these medieval understandings of Mary. In the New World, the conquistadors both used her in the conquest of indigenous peoples and held her out to these people in evangelical efforts, influencing how some indigenous eventually appropriated her as their own military icon. Legends about her role in the conquest of Mexico became repositories of colonial identities, Spanish and indigenous. These legends inspired men involved in the founding of seventeenth-century New Mexico. There, Mary figured prominently in how colonists, friars, and Pueblos viewed the Pueblo Revolt of 1680 and the re-establishment of the Spanish colony in the 1690s. Her role in colonial New Mexico reverberates in the state’s contemporary ethnic politics.Less

La Conquistadora : The Virgin Mary at War and Peace in the Old and New Worlds

Amy G. Remensnyder

Published in print: 2014-01-23

This book brings together medieval Iberia, colonial Mexico, and colonial New Mexico through the largely unexplored history of the Virgin Mary as a figure of warfare and cross-cultural encounter. Beginning around 1000, Mary was drawn into warfare between Muslims and Christians in Iberia, emerging as an icon of the so-called Christian reconquest, which ended in 1492. In the process, rulers of Castile and Aragon developed a Marian sense of monarchy and Mary helped define the manliness of Christian men of war. In the religiously–mixed polities of high medieval Castile and Aragon, Mary became a key figure through which Muslims, Christians, and Jews negotiated their relationships with each other, and articulated identities. Mary also became central to the Christian view of the conversion of Muslims and Jews. The Spaniards who established colonies in the Caribbean and Mexico brought with them these medieval understandings of Mary. In the New World, the conquistadors both used her in the conquest of indigenous peoples and held her out to these people in evangelical efforts, influencing how some indigenous eventually appropriated her as their own military icon. Legends about her role in the conquest of Mexico became repositories of colonial identities, Spanish and indigenous. These legends inspired men involved in the founding of seventeenth-century New Mexico. There, Mary figured prominently in how colonists, friars, and Pueblos viewed the Pueblo Revolt of 1680 and the re-establishment of the Spanish colony in the 1690s. Her role in colonial New Mexico reverberates in the state’s contemporary ethnic politics.

Michael W. Dols

History, World Medieval History, History of Science, Technology, and Medicine

This is a study of madness in the medieval Islamic world. Using a wide variety of sources from history, literature, and art, the book explores beliefs about madness in Islamic society and examines ...
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This is a study of madness in the medieval Islamic world. Using a wide variety of sources from history, literature, and art, the book explores beliefs about madness in Islamic society and examines attitudes towards individuals afflicted by mental illness or disability. The book demonstrates the links between Christian and Muslim medical beliefs and practices, and traces the influence of certain Christian beliefs, such as miracle working, on Islamic practices. It analyses the notions of the romantic fool, the wise fool, and the holy fool in medieval Islam within the framework of perceptions of mental illness, and shows that the madman was not regarded as a pariah, an outcast, or a scapegoat. This book's examination of magic, medicine, and religion helps to open up our understanding of medieval Islamic society.Less

Majnūn: The Madman in Medieval Islamic Society

Michael W. Dols

Published in print: 1992-10-01

This is a study of madness in the medieval Islamic world. Using a wide variety of sources from history, literature, and art, the book explores beliefs about madness in Islamic society and examines attitudes towards individuals afflicted by mental illness or disability. The book demonstrates the links between Christian and Muslim medical beliefs and practices, and traces the influence of certain Christian beliefs, such as miracle working, on Islamic practices. It analyses the notions of the romantic fool, the wise fool, and the holy fool in medieval Islam within the framework of perceptions of mental illness, and shows that the madman was not regarded as a pariah, an outcast, or a scapegoat. This book's examination of magic, medicine, and religion helps to open up our understanding of medieval Islamic society.

In the twelfth century, the Catholic Church attempted a thoroughgoing reform of marriage and sexual behavior aimed at eradicating sexual desire from Christian lives. Seeking a refuge from the very ...
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In the twelfth century, the Catholic Church attempted a thoroughgoing reform of marriage and sexual behavior aimed at eradicating sexual desire from Christian lives. Seeking a refuge from the very serious condemnations of the Church and relying on a courtly culture that was already preoccupied with honor and secrecy, European poets, romance writers, and lovers devised a vision of love as something quite different from desire. Romantic love was thus born as a movement of covert resistance. This illuminates the birth of a cultural movement that managed to regulate selfish desire and render it innocent—or innocent enough. It strikes out from this historical moment on an international exploration of love, contrasting the medieval development of romantic love in Europe with contemporaneous eastern traditions in Bengal and Orissa, and in Heian Japan between the 9th and 12th centuries, where one finds no trace of an opposition between love and desire. In this comparative framework, this text tells a tale about the rise and fall of various practices of longing, underscoring the uniqueness of the European concept of sexual desire.Less

The Making of Romantic Love : Longing and Sexuality in Europe, South Asia, and Japan, 900-1200 CE

William M. Reddy

Published in print: 2012-08-30

In the twelfth century, the Catholic Church attempted a thoroughgoing reform of marriage and sexual behavior aimed at eradicating sexual desire from Christian lives. Seeking a refuge from the very serious condemnations of the Church and relying on a courtly culture that was already preoccupied with honor and secrecy, European poets, romance writers, and lovers devised a vision of love as something quite different from desire. Romantic love was thus born as a movement of covert resistance. This illuminates the birth of a cultural movement that managed to regulate selfish desire and render it innocent—or innocent enough. It strikes out from this historical moment on an international exploration of love, contrasting the medieval development of romantic love in Europe with contemporaneous eastern traditions in Bengal and Orissa, and in Heian Japan between the 9th and 12th centuries, where one finds no trace of an opposition between love and desire. In this comparative framework, this text tells a tale about the rise and fall of various practices of longing, underscoring the uniqueness of the European concept of sexual desire.

This book reevaluates the place of eunuchs in Byzantium, using the modern concept of gender as a social construct to identify eunuchs as a distinct gender and to illustrate how gender was defined in ...
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This book reevaluates the place of eunuchs in Byzantium, using the modern concept of gender as a social construct to identify eunuchs as a distinct gender and to illustrate how gender was defined in the Byzantine world. At the same time, the author explores the changing role of the eunuch in Byzantium from 600 to 1100. Accepted for generations as a legitimate and functional part of Byzantine civilization, eunuchs were prominent in both the imperial court and the church. They were distinctive in physical appearance, dress, and manner, and were considered uniquely suited for important roles in Byzantine life. Transcending conventional notions of male and female, eunuchs lived outside of normal patterns of procreation and inheritance and were assigned a unique capacity for mediating across social and spiritual boundaries, which allowed them to perform tasks from which prominent men and women were constrained, making them, in essence, perfect servants.Less

The Perfect Servant : Eunuchs and the Social Construction of Gender in Byzantium

Kathryn M. Ringrose

Published in print: 2004-05-15

This book reevaluates the place of eunuchs in Byzantium, using the modern concept of gender as a social construct to identify eunuchs as a distinct gender and to illustrate how gender was defined in the Byzantine world. At the same time, the author explores the changing role of the eunuch in Byzantium from 600 to 1100. Accepted for generations as a legitimate and functional part of Byzantine civilization, eunuchs were prominent in both the imperial court and the church. They were distinctive in physical appearance, dress, and manner, and were considered uniquely suited for important roles in Byzantine life. Transcending conventional notions of male and female, eunuchs lived outside of normal patterns of procreation and inheritance and were assigned a unique capacity for mediating across social and spiritual boundaries, which allowed them to perform tasks from which prominent men and women were constrained, making them, in essence, perfect servants.

What do we learn if we look in parallel at the past of two distinct parts of the world? This book weighs this question by considering both the central Sahel of West Africa and the European countries ...
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What do we learn if we look in parallel at the past of two distinct parts of the world? This book weighs this question by considering both the central Sahel of West Africa and the European countries around the North Sea, for the period 800–1500. This is a time for which historical records are scarce, and to which archaeology is making ever-increasing contributions. It is also, and foremost, a time when the central Sahel and northern Europe alike were undergoing far-reaching changes that were to define key aspects of their identity today. New monotheistic religions were replacing the animist faiths, states and empires were becoming consolidated, new trading networks were being set up, new towns were emerging, and fortifications were being erected as symbols and in defence against raiders and invaders. Do these elements of convergence mean that we can unpick much wider themes of similarity between northern Europe and Sahelian West Africa? This volume's central argument is that we can understand one area better by seeking inspiration from another.Less

Rulers, Warriors, Traders, Clerics : The Central Sahel and the North Sea, 800-1500

Anne Haour

Published in print: 2007-12-27

What do we learn if we look in parallel at the past of two distinct parts of the world? This book weighs this question by considering both the central Sahel of West Africa and the European countries around the North Sea, for the period 800–1500. This is a time for which historical records are scarce, and to which archaeology is making ever-increasing contributions. It is also, and foremost, a time when the central Sahel and northern Europe alike were undergoing far-reaching changes that were to define key aspects of their identity today. New monotheistic religions were replacing the animist faiths, states and empires were becoming consolidated, new trading networks were being set up, new towns were emerging, and fortifications were being erected as symbols and in defence against raiders and invaders. Do these elements of convergence mean that we can unpick much wider themes of similarity between northern Europe and Sahelian West Africa? This volume's central argument is that we can understand one area better by seeking inspiration from another.